Welcome to the UC/GEC Office

During your undergraduate career at SMU, you will satisfy all of the requirements associated with your major, you may also pursue a second major or minor, and you will fulfill what are commonly known as “general education requirements.”

General education at SMU is grounded is in the liberal arts. The Master Plan of 1963 articulated the University's educational philosophy in this way:

"The essence of the educational philosophy which undergirds the Master Plan is that professional studies must rise from the solid foundation of a basic liberal education. The aim of this University, in other words, is to educate its students, as worthy human beings and as citizens, first, and as teachers, lawyers, ministers, research scientists, businessmen, engineers, and so on, second."

Most current students fulfill general education requirements known as the UC, or University Curriculum.

Students entering SMU between 1996 and 2011 and some transfer students fulfill general education requirements known as the GEC.

Our office is also the home for two curriculum-based initiatives designed to enhance the academic aspirations of high-achieving students: the University Honors Program and the Hilltop Scholars Program.